Numbers from i-Metrics Asia Pacific show that a significant number of transactions in the Philippines are now done online: 28% of Filipino Internet users’ purchases are done electronically, with 22% making online payments.

E-commerce Start-up Presentation

Tagay.ph – Tagay.PH is an online marketplace for all your alcoholic drinks and liquor needs. Its owner, Mark Joseph Panganiban envisions a community of drinkers coming together online to swap stories of drinking experiences and plan their next “inuman” sessions.

Karpintero.ph – Connecting homeowners to quality and reliable construction service providers, Karpintero.ph serves as a platform where construction service providers can bid on homeowners’ construction, repair, and renovation requirements.

Bazaro.com.ph, an online marketplace for grocers and buyers, is also part of Digital Filipino’s E-commerce training program.

Personal Insights

The summit has shown that our country is not lacking in entrepreneurs with great ideas for e-commerce businesses, eager to contribute to the country’s economic growth. There are many existing e-commerce businesses who are able to take advantage of technological innovations to compete with big businesses not just in the local scene but also in the international business arena.

There’s a whole new ecosystem to learn and implement if one is to fully embrace e-commerce as a business model. Knowing the ins and outs of the digital infrastructure can be technical and complicated, but I believe that there are many mentors out there willing to help e-commerce start-ups.

Much has to be done in terms of building a reliable and secure digital infrastructure from which e-commerce businesses can be developed. Telecom service providers need to improve their services. Internet connectivity in the country is a big joke. Logistics companies can still improve their service security and reliability. Also, we need more businesses like LoanPinas to provide additional capital and support for these start-ups.

E-commerce in the Philippines is still in its infancy stage, and there’s still a lot that needs to be done by practitioners and stakeholders to spread the gospel of e-commerce to more Filipinos here and abroad. Empowering more Filipinos to create e-commerce businesses will drive the engine of economic growth in the Philippines.

The E-Commerce Entrepreneurs Summit was organized by Digital Filipino headed by Janette Toral.

Special thanks to Sherlane Fortunado of RaketHub.com for her inputs in this post.